PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has stated that while the Cambodian economy is recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, a new issue the country must monitor is the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is likely to have a negative impact on global economic growth, including Cambodia. He revealed that the Royal Government is monitoring this case "to formulate policies and put in place the necessary intervention measures in a timely manner."
Speaking at the handover ceremony of more than half a million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines donated by Hungary at the Peace Palace on Friday morning, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that Cambodia expects to be able to restore and stimulate economic growth by improving key economic barriers affected by Covid-19 and identifying potential new entrants in other sectors. He said that although the economy in the tourism sector has not yet recovered, other key sectors are recovering and promoting continuous growth, which enabled Cambodia’s economy to achieve a growth of about 3% in 2021, which may increase up to 5% in 2022.
However, the Prime Minister expressed concern that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could be a major challenge for the world economy. He said, “At the same time, uncertainties remain alarmingly high due to the emergences of various challenges. Particularly, the Ukraine-Russia conflict is likely to have a negative impact on global and Cambodia's economic growth should the conflict continue. In this regard, Cambodia has been closely monitoring these challenges, in order to be able to prepare policy and introduce necessary intervention in a timely manner.”
On 24 February, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited the need to "denuclearize Ukraine" to protect the Donbass Republic and ensure Russia will not be under NATO threat from Ukrainian territory, as the reason for the launch of Russia’s military operation.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to a series of US-led sanctions on Russia from the West, and ultimately on Russian oil and gas companies, which provided the country its main source of income. These sanctions have had a secondary effect of spreading the crisis in Ukraine across the world, as oil prices continue to rise, hurt the economy and people's livelihoods.
The current crisis is also affecting the price of fuel in Cambodia, which currently stands at 5,300 riel per liter for both regular gasoline and diesel.
